Iron History

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01/30/2003 Entry: "Apollon 2"

From VIM magazine March 1941, a letter written by Professor Edmond Desbonnet to Leo Gaudreau, October 7, 1931. Leo translated the letter from the original French of Desbonnet, whom Leo described as �in all probability� knowing �more about Apollon as anyone.�

�Monsieur,

�Louis Cyr did not come to France, I saw him in England, during his contest with Sandow.. Louis Cyr was certainly a man of extraordinary strength, but his feats were completely different than those of Apollon, it is not possible to say that he was superior to Apollon, moreover he was not.

�Apollon could snatch 220 lbs. with one hand using five 44 lb. weights, and he could snatch a bar of 225 lbs. with one hand, a very difficult bar that very powerful athletes such as Cyclops and others could not lift from the floor with one hand. Apollon used to lift every night his rail-way wheels which the youthful Rigoulot has just succeeded in cleaning and jerking. These wheels weighed 366 lbs. The difficulty of the bar was such that Rigoulot who can clean 401.5 lbs. had to train for several months before he could clean these rail-way wheels.�

[Roark note: So Desbonnet, who had seen both sets of rail-way wheels, asserts that the set which Apollon lifted at virtually every performance, was indeed the heavier of the two sets, the 366 pound set, which Rigoulot also had lifted on March 3, 1930- about a year and a half before this letter was written.]

�However it must be recognized that Louis Cyr was a man of great muscular power and we could place him directly after Apollon, but the structure of the two men was so much different, that at first view, a good judge of athletes would see right away that the strength of Apollon was greater and more natural than that of Louis Cyr, and more, Apollon did not train, while Louis very spirited and endowed with self-esteem trained enormously and he died relatively young because he abused feats of strength (I think that Desbonnet means that Cyr over-did certain strength feats that were more harmful than good.L.G.) while Apollon died at 68 years, quite intact, following an indiscretion. Having had an abscess in his throat he did not want to have it lanced as the physician advised, and more, he slept in a cold room, the abscess broke during the night and the pus poisoned him.�

�To resume, I recognize that Louis Cyr was an extraordinary man, but he did nothing to maintain, nor to prove that he was Apollon�s superior, Louis Cyr was especially strong in one and two arm presses and especially in the bent press, Apollon trained very little at these feats, but in contrast he did other things that proved his ineffable strength�.

Now Gaudreau offers: �Personally, I like to think that Apollon was the most powerful human that ever lived, but all my friends know about my great liking for stage and Circus and they would say I�m singing praises to another performer. Regardless I would not care to be so dogmatic as to nominate a man for that position. Saxon lifted more one hand and two hands than any man before or since. [1941] There are Gorner�s dead lifts, two hands over-grip style with 661 lbs. and one hand deadlift with 602 lbs. [Roark note: please notice Gaudreau does not use or attribute the higher poundages to Goerner that some do] How about Steinbach�s 341 lbs. Two Hands Continental Jerk with Dumb bells and press in the same lift with 309 lbs. Then we have Cyr�s great feats. As to Apollon, who beside him could lift nightly those iron car wheels or snatch with one hand either 4 or 5 forty-four pound weights or better the high figure he squeezed the Regnier Dynamometer to, in a half-hearted attempt, complaining it hurt his hand.

�John Valentine and I have been bickering over this for years; every time I mention Apollon he brings up the name of that great Italian strong-man Maciste, but facts about Maciste�s strength (much as I admire him) are relatively less than those concerning other strong men.�

Keeping in mind the above was from 1941, in fairness we should acknowledge that later, Leo gained some doubt as to which set of wheels Apollon daily lifted, mentioning in his classic ANVILS, HOSESHOES and CANNONS: The History of Strongmen, Vol 1, 1975, p 152, where after poring over 29 newspaper accounts of Apollon�s performances- accounts which lack important details, Leo found mention of the railcar wheels in only two reports, but Apollon�s piano lifting feat was mentioned far more often.

He concludes �Although all of the foregoing information is thin, there is no doubt that Apollon did own and lift a set of railroad-car wheels weighing from all accounts, 118 kilos, or 260 pounds. This needed to be told to understand and appreciate the second phase of this story�� Leo then goes on to discuss how Charles Rigoulot lifted the heavier set of wheels. A trail we will not follow at this time.

Returning to VIM magazine, now the April 1941 issue wherein Leo continues his story about Apollon, after my note:

[The most important factors in reading about oldetime stronmen are are:

1. Who wrote the material? (some authors deserve to be automatically and immediately doubted in their details, and their work serves only as a starting place for other researchers to doublecheck.

2. Do not read the text with blind acceptance, as the following paragraphs illustrates:]

�In his act Apollon, we are told, used to take a rectangular weight of 176 lbs., snatch it to overhead with one hand and then allow it to come down to a full stop at arm�s length in a hold-out. This weight is shown in a photo of Cadine which I own; it was also depicted in his huge poster, a photo of which I am fortunate enough to own.� [the image atop ironhistory.com shows this weight at Apollon�s feet, 80 kilograms]

There are ample tales of Apollon using his top-handled 176 lb weight in one arm snatches, and this level of strength he in fact possessed. But: to then slowly lower the weight to straight arm parallel to the floor and HOLD it there? Leo continues:

�About snatching this weight, I have no doubt IT WAS WELL WITHIN HIS POWER (Roark emphasis) because it seems to have been his favorite stunt. It was, however a common strength test among French athletes at the time. Three 44 lbs. rectangular weights snatched with one hand placed you among the elite. Apollon was unique because he could snatch four of these AT ANY TIME (Roark emphasis) and as was mentioned previously, San-Marin tricked him into lifting four of these weights that had surreptitiously been fixed to weigh- not their usual 176 lbs.- but 198 lbs.! At no time have I seen it recorded that any other strong-man snatched four 44 lb. weights with one hand. It must be realized that a man capable of one arm snatching a 176 lb. barbell in approved scientific style cannot compare himself in strength to a man one arm snatching four 44 lb. weights in a less scientific style.�

Now here comes the questionable part:

�However, I cannot believe that the 176 lb. rectangular weight was muscled out, even incorrectly. It was the custom among professionals to have duplicate block weights. Outwardly the appearance was similar. In weight, one was genuine and the other was false, or much lighter When in danger of being invaded by rivals the genuine weights were used; the false weights were used to conserve their strength or for purposes of trickery. Apollon was no exception to this rule and I suspect his hold-out with a 176 lb. rectangular weight was performed with a false or lighter weight of similar appearance

�You must also remember that these holdouts were not always held out by the ring; but the weight was held partly on the palm of the hand and extending up on the forearm. I speak now not only of Apollon, but of other athletes and weights credited to them.

�One lengthy newspaper account dated October 9, 1893, gives him credit for a hold out of 110 lbs. and further states that without a doubt to have held out such a weight he must surely have resorted to trickery. The word trickery here, I presume, refers to resting about two-thirds of the weight on the forearm.�

It should be kept in mind, though, that on the occasion of what Apollon deemed to be a challenge by the Rasso Trio, December 18, 1892, Apollon would NOT have employed his false weights (if he had any) because his reputation was on the line, and as part of his performance that day, �The famous 176 lb. rectangular weight was snatched with one hand and held-out for three seconds with considerable bend at the waist.�

My conclusion is that, if Apollon owned a false 176 lb weight (hollowed, or made of something lighter than cast iron), he would not have employed it when his reputation was being challenged by the Rasso Trio. Even today no one can holdout 176 pounds one handed! So the feat probably involved cheating in technique instead of cheating with the poundage. For every inch closer to the shoulder the weight is held out, the easier the lift becomes, plus the backbend described reveals his trunk was not vertical, which also may indicate the arm was not parallel to the floor, but upward, adding to the ease of the lift, so whatever happened, it cannot be accepted as a proper hold out with 176 pounds.

But please notice, that even by using these cheating changes to the proper form, we never hear of anyone performing this feat in this manner- even a cheating hold out with 176 lbs
Indicates a wonderfully yet horrendous, frightening level of strength.

Having said all that, it is also true that in his usual performances, Apollon lacked, or at least chose not to employ, skilled movements in his lifts, as Gaudreau describes: �All of Apollon�s chroniclers seem to concur that his lifting was quite unscientific, or, to be more specific, he assisted himself but very little with his legs. Believing these things and with knowledge of Rigoulot�s two arm jerk of 402 lbs. (performed through strict training) we must arrive at the conclusion that Apollon properly coached and trained would have arrived at a figure in the two arm jerk as unattainable by other strong men as Saxon�s 371 lbs. bent press seems to be.�
[for the moment we will bypass whether Saxon managed 386 in that lift]

However, Desbonnet�s description in the Kings of Strength regarding the ease with which Apollon could swing or could snatch- one handed keep in mind- four 44 lb weights as �easily overhead without the slightest effort� seems to be camped in Lake Make Believe.

We end this installment with a paragraph translated by David Chapman from the Kings of Strength, where the context is Cyclops, Sampson, and Apollon meeting at a pub, after Apollon had gone onto the stage during the performance of these other two men, and accepting their whispered pleas to �not take away a colleague�s livelihood�, Apollon graciously did not interrupt their performance. Then,

�After the show, the three strongmen met once more at a pub frequented by music hall artists, and Cyclops displayed his famous arm. At the request of several fans, Apollon bared his own arm, and the frightful arm of Cyclops seemed to be that of a child in comparison. Never in the athlete�s memory could he recall seeing an arm like that of Apollon�.

Let me offer this plug: David Chapman, as time allows, is perfecting his translation of the Kings of Strength. When ready we will announce it here, push it here, insist here that you buy a copy because it contains jewels of information that have been locked into French for many years and are soon to be breathing free English air! That may be several months away- or longer- a publisher must be found etc., and in the meantime we will but sparingly season out effort with David�s text. It is for him to get the honor when the text comes out as a whole.

Apollon 3 coming soon